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标题: MMO Family: When enough is enough [打印本页]

作者: 匿名    时间: 2009-11-1 01:02     标题: MMO Family: When enough is enough

MMO Family: When enough is enoughby Lisa Poisso Oct 30th 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Kids, MMO Family


MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family ... From tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate niches for every family member, MMO Family offers you advice on MMO gaming of the family, by the family and for the family.

Whether yours is the kind of family with "screen time" limits or the type that takes a more laissez-faire approach to logging in, there comes a point when enough is enough. Plenty of pixels and ink have been devoted to the debate over whether or not internet and gaming overuse should be considered an "addiction." What we're here to discuss is how gaming affects your family. As parents who game, we should be in a unique position to appreciate, respect and guide our children's attraction to games. But sometimes in the crush of day-to-day living, it's easy to let those last few minutes slip into half an hour ... past an hour ... into the evening ... into a habit that's begun eating away at family balance.

To help parents recognize when their children's gaming may have passed what's reasonable and productive for them as individuals, we touched base with psychiatrist Dr. Kourosh Dini (author of Video Game Play and Addiction: A Guide for Parents and himself a gamer). Statistics on gaming use, he explains, show that most gamers manage to balance gaming with their daily lives without negative consequences. "In fact ... sometimes what one can gain from a game is quite profound," he observes. "The person's mind and the video games together set the stage – either for benefit or for detriment." A gaming schedule that suffocates one child's motivation and energy might buoy another through social problems at school. Our mission: to keep the mix healthy, productive and fun.

Before we go any farther, let's re-emphasize that we're not here to demonize time spent gaming or set inflexible time limits. We do, however, want parents to have the tools to diagnose real problems in the making. How much gaming is simply too much? These questions from Dr. Dini's book can help you pinpoint problem patterns. Admittedly, this is a lengthy list – but every child is different, and one size absolutely does not fit all. Few kids will struggle with all or even most of these issues. Look for changes that seem remarkable for your child.

Neglecting school, work and relationships Physical changes Emotional changes Difficulty quitting Tolerance Withdrawal Thinking about the gaming/life balance
There's a lot of discourse out there today on how gaming can affect growing young minds and bodies. Like anything else, some of it is solid gold and some is complete tripe. Still, our kids' emotional health is important enough to merit keeping an open mind. While there can be very real harm in allowing gaming to intrude on the rest of our children's lives, we're also familiar with the family bonding, opportunity for learning and sheer fun of gaming as a family.

Sift out the hysteria and the hype from valid cautions and criticisms. Be honest with your children and yourself about how things are playing out in your home. And always keep in touch with your children and how they're gaming. Well played!

More reading:
Big trouble in little articles: Ten game addiction fallacies
Blogger discusses EverQuest addiction
WoW.com interview: Dr. Hilarie Cash of reSTART Internet Addiction Recovery Program
Compulsive gaming a social problem, not an addiction
MMO Family offers advice on MMO gaming of the family, by the family and for the family. Connect with author Lisa Poisso on Twitter at @emused, and e-mail your questions and observations about gaming and parenting to lisa (at) massively (dot) com.




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